Nurses Caring for Older Adult Family Members: Disclosing Caregiving to Work Supervisors
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
5-1-2024
Journal
Western journal of nursing research
Volume
46
Issue
5
DOI
10.1177/01939459241238675
Keywords
disclosure; family caregivers; nurses; personnel management; supervisor
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Disclosure of family caregiving to work supervisors is needed for nurses to access work support for family caregiving. Little is known about characteristics of nurses who decide to/not to disclose family caregiving to supervisors. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to examine characteristics of nurses based on whether they disclosed caregiving responsibilities to their nursing supervisors and describe reasons for non-disclosure. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey. Registered nurses who had a work supervisor and cared for an older adult family member completed a survey including demographics, work and caregiving characteristics, and disclosure. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were conducted. RESULTS: The sample included 162 nurses. Participants were on average 50 years old, 90.1% female, 65.4% married, and 80.9% were caring for a parent or parent-in-law. The disclosure was more likely among nurses who provided higher intensity care (hours of care), cared for a parent or in-law, or had a quality caregiver-care recipient relationship. Reasons for non-disclosure included wanting to separate personal and work life, discomfort, and fear of consequences. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses struggle with similar disclosure challenges as other family caregivers. Care intensity, caregiver-care recipient relationships, and care stress were associated with disclosure behaviors.
APA Citation
Xu, Jiayun; Peng, Yisheng; and Foli, Karen J., "Nurses Caring for Older Adult Family Members: Disclosing Caregiving to Work Supervisors" (2024). GW Authored Works. Paper 5015.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/5015
Department
Nursing Faculty Publications